Death row inmate Ralph Menzies’ request for a new mental competency evaluation has been rejected by a Utah judge. If that request had been granted, it would have delayed Menzies’ Sept. 5 execution by firing squad.
Under both Utah and federal law, a person must have a rational understanding that they’re being executed and the reasons for it. While the court ruled that the 67-year-old with vascular dementia is mentally competent, his attorneys argued his condition had worsened significantly and warranted another look.
Utah Third District Judge Matthew Bates was not convinced.
“The changes since Menzies was last evaluated in the fall of 2024 are not substantial,” Bates wrote in his ruling.
Many of the difficulties Menzies’ attorneys pointed to, like physical and cognitive problems, were present in his last evaluation, Bates wrote. While there is evidence that Menzies’ condition has generally declined, the judge wrote there’s no evidence that it is substantially different from when the court made its competency determination in June.
When a person has already been deemed competent, the bar to get another hearing, Bates said, is to show there has been “a substantial change in circumstances” and to sufficiently “raise a significant question about the inmate’s competency.”
Bates wrote that Menzies failed to do either.
While Menzies’ memory may be worse and his answers to questions may be more sparse than they have been in the past, he still appears to be rooted in reality, the judge said. That was shown in recordings of the inmates’ recent phone calls with family members.
“He asks appropriate questions and answers their questions appropriately,” the judge’s order said. “He exhibits no confusion or distorted or irrational thinking.”
In 1986, Menzies abducted Maurine Hunsaker, a 26-year-old mother of three, from the Kearns gas station where she worked. Her body was later found in Big Cottonwood Canyon, tied to a tree with her throat slit. He was convicted of her murder in 1988.
“Forgetfulness, an inability to concentrate, and a paucity of language do not amount to a lack of an ability to reach a rational understanding of the link between crime and punishment,” Bates wrote. “Menzies has not alleged sufficient facts or provided sufficient evidence that raises a significant question of whether Menzies is incapable of understanding that he is being executed because he killed Maurine Hunsaker.”
Menzies’ legal team is still pursuing other avenues to try to halt the upcoming execution.
They’re asking the state parole board to commute his death sentence to life in prison without parole. That commutation hearing is scheduled to conclude Aug. 15, after which the board will vote and issue its decision.
Menzies’ attorneys are also appealing Judge Bates’ decision to the Utah Supreme Court. The high court is scheduled to hear the case Aug. 21.
